Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Rossendale (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Helmshore Mills Textile Museum, Longholme Methodist Church, and St John the Evangelist's Church. Also, be sure to include St Paul's Church in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Rossendale (England).
Table of Contents
Helmshore Mills Textile Museum
Museum in Helmshore, England. Helmshore Mills are two mills built on the River Ogden in Helmshore, Lancashire. Higher Mill was built in 1796 for William Turner, and Whitaker's Mill was built in the 1820s by the Turner family. In their early life they alternated between working wool and cotton. By 1920 they were working shoddy as condensor mule mills; and equipment has been preserved and is still used. The mills closed in 1967 and they were taken over by the Higher Mills Trust, whose trustees included historian and author Chris Aspin and politician Dr Rhodes Boyson, who maintained it as a museum. The mills are said to the most original and best-preserved examples of both cotton spinning and woollen fulling left in the country that are still operational.
Following the withdrawal of its grant from Lancashire County Council, the museum closed to the public on 30 September 2016 for an indefinite period. However, the museum remained open for pre-booked school visits. In April 2018 the council announced that the museums would reopen to the general public for three days a week between April and November.[1]
Address: Holcombe Rd, BB4 4NP Rossendale
Longholme Methodist Church
Methodist church in England. Longholme Methodist Church is Methodist church in Rawtenstall, Lancashire. 53.70103°N 2.28619°W / 53.70103; -2.28619 The current building is the third used for methodist worship in Rawtenstall. It cost £7,000 and was opened on 18 March 1842. It provided 1300 seats for worshippers. The building was designed by John Simpson of Leeds. It was financed by the brothers Thomas, David and Peter Whitehead, local businessmen who are buried in a shared grave in the churchyard.[2]
St John the Evangelist's Church
Building. St John the Evangelist's Church is in the village of Crawshawbooth, near Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England. It is a redundant Anglican parish church formerly in the deanery of Rossendale, the archdeaconry of Bolton, and the diocese of Manchester. Its benefice has been united with that of St Mary and All Saints, Goodshaw. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.[3]
St Paul's Church
Church in England. St Paul's Church is in Burnley Road, Constable Lee, Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Rossendale, the archdeaconry of Bolton, and the diocese of Manchester. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[4]
Rawtenstall
Town in England. Rawtenstall is a town in the borough of Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The town lies 15 miles/24 km north of Manchester, 22 miles/35 km east of Preston and 45 miles/70 km south east of the county town of Lancaster. The town is at the centre of the Rossendale Valley. It had a population of 23,000.[5]
Rawtenstall Library
Library in Rawtenstall, England. Rawtenstall Library is a Carnegie Library located in the town of Rawtenstall, Lancashire.
Plans for a new library in Rawtenstall were drawn up in 1903 following the promise of a donation of £6,000 from the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Originally the building was to have included an Assembly Room and Town Hall but the full proposals failed through lack of funding and it was just the library building that was constructed and officially opened in 1907. The library was administered by the Borough of Rawtenstall until Local Government reorganisation in 1974 since when it has been managed by Lancashire County Council.[6]
Address: Rossendale, Queen's Square, Haslingden Rd
St John's Church
Church in England. St John's Church is a redundant Anglican church in Newchurch Road, Cloughfold, Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[7]
Rossendale Valley
The Rossendale Valley is in the Rossendale area of Lancashire, England, between the West Pennine Moors and the main range of the Pennines. The area includes the steep-sided valleys of the River Irwell and its tributaries, which flow southwards into Greater Manchester. The rivers cut through the moorland of the Rossendale Hills, generally characterized by open unwooded land, despite the ancient designation of "forest".[8]
Hail Storm Hill
Summit in England. Hail Storm Hill, also known as Cowpe Moss, is the highest point of the Rossendale Valley, England, an area of moorland and hill country situated between the West Pennine Moors and the South Pennines. It is wholly within Lancashire, although the administrative county boundary with the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale passes just a kilometre to the south-east of the summit.
Scout Moor Wind Farm now spans Hail Storm Hill.
The Forest of Rossendale also contains the Marilyn of Freeholds Top and the summit of Great Hameldon.[9]
Mather Gallery Original Art & Framing
Art gallery, Gift shop, Museum, Shopping
Address: 28 Bury Road, BB4 6AA Rawtenstall
Ilex Mill
Ilex Mill is a cotton mill built in 1856 by Peter Whitehead in Rawtenstall, Lancashire. It reached its peak of production in 1895 when it had 50,000 spindles and 748 looms. However, by 1899 the building had been sold to Messrs Hoyle, Parker and Company who turned the premises into a shoe factory.
The building was once again used for textile production in the 1930s, and by 1954 two associated companies, James Rothwell and Fabricade Ltd occupied the building, working alongside one another. Fabricade made bed spreads and bathroom sets there until 1981, when they shut the plant down with the loss of 60 jobs. The building was put on the market for £85,000. The Council developed plans to turn the mill into a new Town Hall for the Borough of Rossendale which had been formed in 1974. The plans, which also involved the Rawtenstall Civic Society, the Lancashire Constabulary and the local Chamber of Commerce. They included Council administrative offices, a chamber for Council meetings and members facilities, as well as a police custody facilities, a community hall and tourist information office. The remaining space had yet to be allocated. The project received £4m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage and English Partnerships. It was proposed that the renovation would be completed with minimum demolition and preservings as much as possible of the internal open space.
However these plans came to nothing, and after a brief period when the building was used to deliver training sessions, the building stood empty for 15 years. By 2003 the building was sold to PJ Livesey Living Space after two years of negotiation.[10]